By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco is warning the CRTC that an application by TekSavvy requesting that the cableco be forced to maintain its coax facilities or else provide aggregated last mile fibre access so it can maintain connectivity to its customers at locations in Burlington and Windsor is offside.
TekSavvy filed the Part 1 application last month warning that its customers at those locations will lose access if Cogeco continues its migration away from older coax technology and toward fibre, alleging that the only means for the wholesaler to get fibre access from a cable company is through the disaggregated regime…
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The CRTC plans to conduct the next steps in its Broadband Fund policy review in two phases, the commission told respondents to its March 2023 notice of consultation in a letter published Monday on its website.
“The Policy Review aims to make the application process faster and easier, broaden the type of funding available, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples through changes that support Indigenous applicants and Indigenous communities,” the letter reads.
The first phase will address issues relating to the existing Broadband Fund framework for capital projects that build or…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The commission should not fear threats of lower investment in incumbent networks when it comes to set wholesale internet rates, the benefits of which will allow independent service providers to build their own networks, the CRTC heard on the final day of its wholesale internet hearing.
The CRTC has been wrangling during the week-long hearing over the question of what the sweet spot is for a rate on which independent internet service providers can lease capacity from the incumbents’ networks. Adam Scott, the CRTC’s vice chair of telecommunications, referred to the risk of the commission falling on either…
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In late January, the CRTC shot a letter to Telus’s vice-president of telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel, Stephen Schmidt, requesting detailed information about the Vancouver-based telecom provider’s proposed March 8 disconnection of home telephone service in an area of Tranquille Valley near Kamloops, B.C.
Having become aware of Telus’s intention to disconnect the service, CRTC staff “is concerned that TELUS’ plans could jeopardize access to telephone services in the Tranquille Valley, and perhaps elsewhere,” the letter said.
“Without reliable alternatives, Canadians in this area would lack access to public safety services…
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The CRTC last week said in a letter to several Canadian wireless ISPs (WISPs) that the commission’s joint study with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) tracking fixed wireless internet performance must be completed by the end of March and no extensions are possible.
The commission has previously asked the WISPs to participate in the study — the third phase of its Measuring Broadband Canada (MBC) project — which aims to better understand how Canadians subscribing to fixed wireless internet services with the federal objective speeds of 50 Mbps download and…
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The CRTC last week informed TerreStar via letter that the commission was denying the Montreal-based mobile satellite and cell services provider’s request for a stay of its June 2023 decision not to allow the company to reduce its regulatory fee obligations by deducting its spectrum leasing revenues.
TerreStar has argued the revenues generated from the sale or leasing of spectrum did not qualify as a telecommunications-related expense, which would have reduced its obligation to the National Contribution Fund (NCF), which is used to fund broadband infrastructure in Canada.
TerreStar filed a Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
After receiving multiple applications over three years, the CRTC on Monday opened a proceeding on the regulation of small cell wireless equipment on telco support structures, as competitors accelerate their 5G deployments.
The regulator wants to hear from interested parties about whether it has jurisdiction over wireless facilities on those telco structures, whether the current telco support structure tariffs encompass those wireless facilities, and whether there should be a requirement for attaching telecoms to get a permit to hook up those facilities to those structures.
The commission said in the notice Monday that it holds the preliminary view that…
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The CRTC on Monday distributed several letters to telecom industry players requesting information on recent incidents in which 911 callers were unable to access service in French, according to the letters.
The letters were sent to mobile service provider Rogers, VoIP service provider Transat Telecom and third-party call centre Northern 911.
In two separate incidents, which have been reported on by La Presse here and here, 911 calls were delivered to Sudbury-based Northern911 and served in English, despite the fact the callers who…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Alicia Barin stepped down as the CRTC’s vice chair of broadcasting on Friday to focus on her personal life.
“After a period of deep reflection and consultation with those closest to me following the sudden passing of my husband this past summer, I have concluded that I am at a time in my life when I need to fully step away from my professional commitments and focus on my family, which includes our four children,” Barin told CRTC staff in a statement, which was forwarded to Cartt.
“My appointment to the CRTC and the opportunity to work with the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The federal government’s procurement website published late last month a contract on behalf of the CRTC that requests a report that delves into a comparative analysis of international mobile wireless roaming rates.
The regulator is asking for an in-depth analysis of the rates provided by Canadian carriers versus their international peers in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
“The study must include an analysis of the factors that may explain the differences (e.g. regulatory, economic, geopolitical, structural and/or technical)” in the pricing between the Canadian and international carriers, according to a statement…
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